Corys and higher temps

[Polardbear]

Nine months out of the year living in the desert is wonderful, but now summer is upon us and the problems begin. The high today is supposed to be 100 degrees, tomorrow 106, Saturday 110 and Sunday 112. I keep the house at 80 degrees with the a/c but the temp in my 55 gallon tank is already up to 82 degrees and I've only had the lights on for 3 hours. It was 79 when I turned the lights on this morning. My swordtails handle the high temp fine but I'm concerned for my paleatus corys they seem a little subdued, normally they are pretty active at this time of day. I've turned the tank lights off for now in hopes it doesn't get any warmer.

Over in my 75 gallon tank the water temp is sitting at 78 degrees. It usually stays several degrees cooler than the 55 gallon, maybe because it's deeper (26 inches) and doesn't have a full hood like the 55 gallon so there's more air movement across the surface. The 75 gallon tank has paleatus, jullii and schwartzi corys in it. This will be my first summer with the 75 gal so I don't know if it will continue to stay reasonably cool or not.

Does anyone know what temp ranges paleatus, jullii and schwartzi corys can handle? Last summer the 55 gallon got up to 85 or 86 degrees. I really can't afford to keep the house much cooler than 80 degrees and 82 would be a lot better.

 

[lizard]

I don't know what those Corys can handle in the way of high temps (I did have some C. paleatus at temps around 86 for a week or two or three one time when I was treating ich and they sruvived okay).

I do, however, have a couple of suggestions/ideas for helping keep your tanks cool Do water changes with cooler water, keep your hood open (as long as you don't have jumpy fish), set up a fan to run across the surface of the tank, use ice blocks (either freeze some dechlorinated water or fill a used pop bottle up with water, freeze it, and stick it in the tank). Maybe try running the lights at night or early in the morning and after dark. If you have a planted tank, the plants do okay with interrupted light like that. If you don't have live plants, just keep the lights off.

Oh, adding an airstore or some other form of additional surface agitation is a good idea, too. Warmer water holds less oxygen than cooler water.

Good luck

Pamela
aka Married Lizard

 

[Polardbear]

Thanks Lizard. Open lids and swordtails don't mix...but that got me to thinking about building a new canopy to match the stand. That would allow me to design it so that I get more air circulation and also raise the lights up higher. I work graveyard shift so the only time I get to visit with my herd of swordies is during the day and they get quite unhappy with the lights off. So I guess I'll just have to go to the lumber store and start pricing out what this is coing to cost me.

 

[BOD]

nuffin to do with the subject..but ive always wondered what is that fish doing in ure sig?

 

[Polardbear]

The swordtail in my sig pic is doing what I call "bubble bouncing". I have several airstones scattered around the tank and when the swordies are feeling playful they will jump in the bubbles and swim straight down against the bubble current and then flip and ride the bubbles up to the top. And then do it again, and again, and again.... It's quite entertaining to watch, especially when they are first learning how to do it, if they don't keep their bodys at the perfect angle on the ride up they go spinning out of control. Some of them become "masters of the bubble ride" (neon swordies seem to master it the fastest) while others seem to enjoy the spinning out of control (usually the pineapple swordies). And yes, before anyone says it, I spend way to much time with my swordies.

p.s. I caught her in that picture just before the flip, she was about a 1/2 inch from the gravel swimming at full speed straight down. It always amazes me that they don't go nose first into the gravel (especially the lyretails) when they do it. You'd swear that they are going to crash before they can flip but no one ever does. They also really enjoy the filter return from my Aquaclear 500.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Polardbear

Your C. paleatus are the ones to be concerned about. Of the corys you mention, they are the most adapted to cooler water and often thrive with goldfish. Juliis and adolfois like mid range temperatures, and 80 degrees might be a bit warm, but I think they will be OK.

As for the extreme temperatures of 85-86, well, you are taking a chance there. It's really high for corys.

When it comes time to add or replace corys, you might want to consider getting some C. sterbai. These are lovely fish and can thrive in temperatures in the mid 80s. They are the ones I would recommend to keep in the high temperature discus tanks.

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/calli...ydora/316_f.php

 

[Polardbear]

Thanks Inchworm. I think I'll move the paleatus crew over to the 75 gallon since it seems to stay cooler. I don't want to gamble with them. Of course, now you've given me the excuse I've needed for getting some sterbais!

 

[Philtre]

Hailing from sunny Singapore, our temperatures sometimes hit a high of 32degrees celsius.

Some of the methods we use to keep our cories cool
1. agitate surface of water
A can be done via adding a airstrip or airstone to your tank
B can be done by using a rain bar in your tank via your filter output
have the rain bar just an inch or two below the water surface and that'll probably do the trick
C install a fan
Here's a link for DIY fans
http/www.petfrd.com/forum/articles.php?a...article&artid=6
might need slight adaptation

2. Chill the water
A long term measure - chiller
B short term DIY
Cheap Chill! Check it out here
http/www.petfrd.com/forum/articles.php?a...rticle&artid=92

Hope that helps somewhat.

 

[Polardbear]

Thank you Philtre - that first article was exactly what I was looking for!